Asian Tech Press (Sep 14) -- South Korea has fined tech giant Alphabet Inc's Google $177 million for allegedly abusing its dominant market position in the mobile operating system and app market, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Google responded by saying it intends to appeal the decision made by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), the country's regulatory authority for economic competition.

The KFTC have been investigating Google since 2016 for allegedly preventing local smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. from using operating systems developed by its rivals.

Under anti-fragmentation agreements (AFAs), device makers are not allowed to install modified versions of the Android operating system on their products, and they are not allowed to develop their own forks of Android.

South Korean regulators say such practices help Google consolidate its dominant position in the mobile platform market and undermines innovation in the development of new operating systems for smart devices.

In addition, the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, known as the "Anti-Google law", went into effect on Sept. 14. The bill prohibits mobile software operators from imposing their own payment systems on software developers and allows the government to investigate app operators on the grounds of preventing damage to users and protecting their rights.